Missing Moments
by A. Zap
Summary: There are always things going on that people don't usually seen. These are some of the moments for Team Voltron. Includes various one-shots featuring Team Voltron.
1. Chapter 1 Not as Clueless

Missing Moments

Not As Clueless

Pidge couldn't even remember what they had been arguing about.

It wasn't like the two of them were actually arguing. It was more like playful bantering that could develop between brothers and sisters, and that was exactly the sort of dynamic that she and Lance had formed. It had started back at the Garrison when Lance had tried to take her under his wing by occasionally covering for her and trying to get her, Hunk, and himself to bond as crewmates. Since coming to the castle though, it had definitely grown into a brotherly-sisterly bond.

"You know for a guy who could notice that a fake Rover was in the room, I'm still shocked that you didn't notice that I was a girl!" Pidge teased as she typed, and then for a second, as she looked up from her screen, she saw it.

Pidge was observant. It was just in her nature. She noticed, her curiosity grew, she pursued it, she learned. It was part of what made her an awesome scientist, hacker, and Paladin.

And one of the things she had only truly realized since leaving Earth was that Lance was not as open or as dumb as he generally came off as.

Lance was just as observant as she could be. He saw, he analyzed, and then he came up with a plan to deal with things, even if that plan involved throwing himself on top of another person to shield them from an explosion. That was part of what made it so surprising that he had missed that fact about her, especially when the other times when he missed things had other factors involved.

And in that moment, she saw a brief look of surprise followed by his thinking face. That meant that he was making a decision about something, and as his expression quickly turned into his signature smirk, it was obvious that there was something being covered up here.

"Well, sorry about that, but really," he flung out a hand as he gestured at himself, "isn't it easy to not – "

"What are you hiding?" Pidge cut him off, eyes narrowing. Lance's bragging was another sign that he was hiding something. Her previous task was completely forgotten as she set her tablet aside.

He blinked at her. "Wha-what? I don't know…" His voice trailed off at her flat expression. He looked away, his hand coming up to scratch the back of his head.

"Lance…" Pidge tried prodding.

He sighed. "Look," he started, "before you told us, back at the Garrison, I had noticed that, biologically, you're a girl."

She stared at him. "What?"

"I mean, yeah, I noticed. I have several sisters, you know." Lance looked… it was somewhat like embarrassment, but not quite. He was definitely flustered, but for the life of her, Pidge could not understand why he would be flustered or why he would have hidden this, especially as the rest of the team had seemed to figure it out one way or another and had admitted to knowing before she "came out."

Due to her lack of response, Lance just kept going. "And, well, there are certain signs, you know? Did you ever notice, uh, that I tended to give you, um, surprise chocolate when…"

"Oh." Realization struck Pidge.

Back at the Garrison, and even here, Lance tended to look after his teammates. Back then, this mostly meant trying to include Pidge in bonding activities, studying with Hunk, or helping the big guy with his anxiety. This behavior had extended to all of Team Voltron out here, but it certainly had changed in terms of expression.

Back then though, due to Lance's tendencies, she would never think twice when he would just randomly give her chocolate on some days. At the time, she figured it was just another way for him to try connecting with her, which she was determined not to do due to her personal goals, but now that she thought about it…

Those times he had given her chocolates were always during the worst part of her periods.

"I mean, chocolate is like the go-to solution for my sisters. I figured it'd help for you as well. Then again, I was trying to be subtle about it because I didn't want to seem to be calling you out and making you uncomfortable and – " Lance was rambling, which he tended to do when nervous or uncomfortable, and Pidge knew she had to shut down this train before it got too bad.

"Why?" She blurt out. He startled, obviously not expecting that, and at his curious blink, Pidge clarified, "Why were you so surprised then? When I told everyone?"

A thoughtful look crossed his face, and he bit his lip. Pidge let him take his time.

"I have a sister that one of my aunts continually refers to as a 'he.'" Pidge blinked at the supposed change of subject and was surprised by the slightly bitter expression on his face. "This same aunt also refuses to call my sibling 'them.'" A small chuckle escaped. "Me and the rest of my family don't see that aunt very much."

Pidge's face scrunched up as she tried to put the pieces together. After all, Lance was a fairly logical thinker, so there had to be a reason he was telling her this.

"So yeah, I noticed that, biologically, you were a girl. However, gender and biology doesn't always match up though, you know? I mean, you used a more gender-neutral name, referred to yourself as a guy, was really quite insistent that you were a guy, so I thought – "

"You thought I was trans." Pidge's eyes widened with this new revelation. " _Oh_."

"Yeah. Kinda." Lance didn't look at her, his hand coming back up. "That's why I didn't want to make a big deal out of the whole giving you chocolate thing, because I didn't want to accidentally out you or cause you to feel dysphoria about your body or anything like that."

"That's…considerate." Though not unsurprising considering what he had just revealed. Lance's protectiveness of his siblings, both older and younger, had been well known even at the Garrison.

"In any case, it was a surprise that you actually were a girl. It's understandable why you pretended," Lance quickly followed up, "it was just a surprise."

Pidge sat back a bit. In that context, yeah, it would be quite the surprise. She hadn't really thought about what she was doing while she was doing it, but she had never considered what would happen if someone were to figure out that she was a girl and not a boy. In Lance's case, his first thought hadn't immediately jumped to "disguise," and he'd actually been shockingly tactful about the whole thing. He hadn't asked her about it, or even hinted at knowing the truth, and instead had just tried to help her in his own way.

Actually, his methods of helping were a lot subtler back then in that regard.

"Thanks." Lance's head jerked up as he stared at her. "I mean, I'm not actually a trans boy, but thanks for not pushing things I guess."

"No problem." Lance smiled at her, his expression soft as he reached over and ruffled her hair.

"Hey." She tried to sound a lot more annoyed than she actually felt as she tried to put it back in some semblance of order.

"And, uh," Pidge looked back up as Lance nervously stammered a bit, "I know all this sort of stuff is confusing, so if you ever want to talk…" He wasn't looking back at her, still seeming a bit flustered.

A slow smile crossed Pidge's face. To be honest, her gender and all that stuff that went with it were not usually on her mind. She had too many other things to worry about. But if she did ever want to think or talk about it…

"Thanks." She said. "I'll keep it in mind."

Lance finally looked back at her, and as he searched her expression he must have found something reassuring because a grin quickly grew on his face. "As long as you do."

Pidge snorted and turned back to the code she was developing. Now, if only she could remember what they had been talking about.

"And getting back on topic," Lance then continued, "Scooby-Doo is obviously the best mystery series in existence."

 _Oh, yeah._ Pidge hid the grin that crossed her face. "Sherlock Holmes is the better mystery character."

And with just a single sentence, the banter was back on.

Though Pidge would never admit that she somehow felt lighter than she had before.

* * *

 _AN: So Lance tends to notice small details and is really observant about things. That's why it's somewhat surprising to me that he never noticed Pidge was a girl, especially when everyone else did. I mean, maybe she's actually a trans girl, which could help explain it, but I thought maybe he thought the opposite was going on if she was born female. Either way, I'm going with she/her pronouns for Pidge since she made a point of saying she's a girl, but if you think she's nonbinary then I think that's also cool too. That's why I sort of left it open that she may find her feelings changing in that regard at some point.  
_


	2. Chapter 2 Shadows in the Ocean

Shadows in the Ocean

"Coran, look out!" The last thing Lance saw before the world became nothing more than heat, smoke, and pain was the sight of his own hands as he desperately pushed the Altean advisor, who did not have protective armor like him, who was one of the only people of his kind left, who had just been there for him mere moments as they bonded over their homesickness, out of the direct line of fire.

Coran was just becoming his friend and maybe even his family, so there was really no other choice for Lance than to protect him.

Then there was nothing.

Well, not nothing necessarily.

It was like Lance was drowning in the ocean almost. Except there was no way that he would ever actually drown.

 _Are you sure this little guy isn't really a mermaid that you picked up in a sea shell?_ His older sister had once asked their parents as she had tried to stop the excited little 4-year-old Lance from diving back into the water as the entire family gathered at the beach.

His mother had supposedly laughed along with his father and the rest of his siblings. _I'm sure he's ours, but who knows? Perhaps the ocean calls to him._

And it was true that he loved the ocean. Swimming was something he had always excelled at, comparisons to the Little Mermaid or fish coming from the lips of teasing siblings. However, even stronger than the ocean's call had been the one he had felt as he had looked up at the endless sky of stars that reflected upon the equally endless ocean.

The unknown shores of space had a tighter hold of his heart than his favorite beaches of Cuba, and he had known that he would one day travel among the stars.

The ocean was still in his veins though. It was no wonder that he was the Guardian of Water.

However, the ocean he found himself drowning in was nothing like the calming, sparkling waters of his home. This was a dangerous sea, dark and heavy like the waves during a hurricane. It was water that one should never venture out into.

And he was drowning in it.

He couldn't move, he couldn't really think. Pain throbbed throughout his whole being, ebbing in and out like the tides. Occasionally, he heard muffled voices or it felt like he was being moved, but it was all far away. He just let himself be buffeted by the currents of the water that he was sinking in.

At some point, something changed.

It was a distant sound, almost like screaming. Lance took a moment to place the voice.

 _Shiro?_

Then he remembered. They were in outer space, fighting the Galra; something had happened, but Lance couldn't remember what.

What he did know was that he couldn't stay floating here if his friends were in trouble.

So he did what he did best in water. He swam. He swam through the darkness, not even knowing which way was up, trying to find a way to the surface. Lance tried to follow the voices, realizing they were getting louder and louder.

His fingers breached the surface of the dark waters he'd been trapped in.

Lance's eyes slowly dragged open. Everything hurt and pain sizzled through his veins and threatened to drag him under once more. He struggled to keep his head above water and kept his eyes open. Flicking them around, he noticed that he was on the bridge, but the lighting was different. Next to him, Shiro was looking off at something in front of them, though he himself was kneeling and handcuffed and looked like he was in pain. Lance dragged his gaze in the same direction.

 _Pidge._

Pidge was held in the gigantic gauntlet of a Galra. Lance felt like he should know the name of this adversary, but frankly, all of his focus centered on his captured friend.

 _Help her, him, them_. His mind was so frazzled he couldn't remember Pidge's pronouns. But that didn't matter. His response was immediate.

Ignoring his screaming body, Lance summoned his bayard, brought it up, took aim, and fired.

He felt a slight thrill as he saw it hit perfectly, forcing the Galra to drop Pidge. But it seemed like that took everything he had as he began to slip under the water once more. His bayard deactivated as he collapsed, his eyes falling shut. He was just barely aware of Shiro and Keith rushing forward towards the Galra.

 _No, no, no! They're in danger_. He couldn't tell what exactly was going, but he could hear that the battle was still continuing. He couldn't just – he couldn't –

Lance knew the surface was in his reach and if he could make it, he could help, but he wasn't able to get there.

"Lance, are you okay?" A hand pulled his reaching one up, anchoring him and bringing him to the surface. Lance's eyes fluttered open to meet Keith's worried ones.

A glance around showed the Galra on the ground. Lance looked over at Keith and felt a smile tugging on his lips.

"We did it." And he couldn't help but think that his voice sounded like complete crap, even though he knew he was barely treading water. He kept his focus on Keith though. "We are a good team." He managed to form the smile that had been waiting to grow.

And Lance saw something that he never thought he'd see.

Keith smiled back.

It wasn't one of those confident smirks he could get, like when they drove right off a cliff to avoid the Garrison, but it was small, genuine, and with a quiet happiness. It unfurled like a flower opening to the morning sun.

Lance wondered exactly how hard he had hit his head, because surely this was a hallucination. The black dots swarming the edge of his vision seemed to support this theory.

As Keith seemed to readjust his hold on him, bringing his arm around him to half-cradle him and keep him upright better, Lance took the opportunity to look around at the others while he was still above the water. Pidge was helping Shiro, both looking exhausted. Allura seemed to be tying up the Galra. Coran and Hunk…

Weren't there.

That made Lance shove his ever approaching unconsciousness back like nothing else could.

"Hunk? Coran?" His eyes darted around but there were no signs of them. He wrenched his gaze back to Keith, who was looking at him worriedly. "Hey, where are…? Are they…?"

"They're fine." Keith reassured him. "Coran and Hunk just had to get a new crystal for the castle."

"Oh." The adrenaline spike faded as quickly as it had come. Memories of what he had been doing before all this prickled his mind and he couldn't help but ask, "So Coran…was fine?"

Keith let an exasperated huff. "Yeah. You protected him."

"Good." Lance could feel the waves dragging him under again. Didn't his dad used to say that you shouldn't try to tread water for too long? It would just exhaust you and leave you unable to even float before long.

His mind was getting too fuzzy to remember.

"Hey!" Someone was shaking him. Lance slowly opened his eyes – he couldn't even remember closing them – and looked up into Keith's face that was flickering between concern and panic. "Don't fall asleep! You were unconscious for a while, and you can't – Just don't close your eyes!" Keith pleaded.

"Awww, you do…care." Lance couldn't help but try chuckling at the thought. He was only able to do it because he suddenly couldn't feel any pain.

There was a voice in the back of his mind saying that wasn't a good sign.

"Of course I care! I – " Lance's eyes slipped shut just as Keith's voice cut off. He wondered why he stopped talking. "Hey, I'm not joking! Keep your eyes open!" Keith sounded like he was full blown panicking now.

But Lance was tired and he didn't think he could tread in these waters anymore. It was getting dark in any case, clearly time for bed. "Nighty night…" He mumbled.

"Lance!" The arms around him shifted and he felt himself being lifted. Was Keith seriously doing a princess carry? They had a perfectly good princess right there. Shouldn't he be doing this with her? "Shiro! Lance, he – "

The voices slowly faded away, even as he heard them gaining in pitch and frequency. Lance didn't have the energy to get invested.

Lance went under.

* * *

Several days later, Lance wasn't lying when he said he didn't remember.

Personally, he thinks this is well within his rights as he apparently got blown up, was unconscious for a lot longer than is really healthy, emerged from a coma to help save the day, and quickly fell back into unconsciousness.

Still, he did feel a twinge of guilt at Keith's betrayed expression. Lance had just wanted to brush it off and get things back to normal, but apparently whatever had happened had mattered to Keith.

And really, he wasn't lying.

All he had in his memory banks were… incomplete.

An echo of screaming, the weight of the trigger on his finger, a flash of red, a glimpse of one of the softest, nicest smiles he'd ever seen, the sensation of arms tenderly cradling him close.

Nothing solid or whole, and when he reached for these moments, they slipped through his fingers as easily as shadows in the ocean.

No matter how much he wanted to remember.

* * *

 _AN: I know some people think Lance is just being facetious here, trying to counter Keith forgetting him back at the Garrison, but let's be real. Lance was unconscious for a long time. Probably at least an hour or even more depending how long it took Pidge and the mice to Home Alone the Galra after they took over the castle. During said initial unconsciousness, he was moved multiple times (Shiro taking him towards the doors, the Galra jerking him around, being taken back to the control room, and then he and Shiro were in a different position there when Pidge finally got there), and he showed no signs of waking during any of this. That's pretty bad. Makes you wonder what sort of spidey sense managed to get him up to shoot Sendak. Then passed out again after shooting the guy but managed to rouse himself enough to talk to Keith. He probably wasn't awake for much longer. So really, who can blame him for forgetting?_

 _Mainly, I wrote this because I wanted some actual cradling. In canon, we only saw him and Keith holding hands but Keith utter look of betrayal says that there was some cradling going on and we were robbed. Also, I wanted to try writing all this from Lance's perspective and I had some really good swimming analogies in mind._

 _BTW, I personally ship Klance (or Laith or whatever), but at this point, it's totally platonic. This is a turning point in their relationship, and while I may personally hope they get together eventually, I'm fine with them just becoming super good friends. So you can consider this as pre-Klance or just becoming closer friends, kudos to you either way._


	3. Chapter 3 Garrison Trio for Life

Garrison Trio for Life

Pidge scowled up at the cryopod holding Lance. Technically, Allura and Shiro had ordered them to go get some rest after the day, well, more like night, they'd all had. And sure, Pidge had done that for a while, but somehow she found herself back here, sitting in front of a silent Lance.

Lance getting hurt had freaked her out a lot more than she wanted to admit. It was just…

Lance was pretty much always moving. Even if he was just standing there, there would be a subtle movement to him, whether it was him using his fidget cube or tapping a hand or foot. Seeing him so still in Shiro's arms had been terrifying. Lance wasn't supposed to be so still, he wasn't supposed to be limp and unconscious with only the occasional groan to let them even know he was alive, he wasn't supposed to be stuck in a pod with a blank look on his face.

So, yeah, it was weird.

Pidge sighed into her hand. _How long is he going to be in there?_ She wondered. Apparently, Allura's initial estimate of a day was a bit off as once Coran and Hunk had come back from finishing installing the crystal, the older Altean had shifted Lance's time in the pod to maybe a couple days.

"'I think. Finger counting really is more art than science.'" Pidge quoted under her breath, rolling her eyes. She preferred more exact timelines and information than what she had been given.

She already had too many unknowns in her life.

And that's what had really torn her in half.

Part of Pidge still really wanted to leave. Her family was out there, and she even had a small clue to start her search!

But, as she had told Keith and the others, she had decided to stay here. Maybe with the better equipment and opportunities to get information from the Galra, she could lessen her search time. Plus, she was a part of Voltron now, and there didn't seem to be a way to get around that.

And…

She glanced up at Lance again.

 _Maybe I owe it to everyone to treat this team better than my first_.

"Oh, you're still up?"

Pidge squawked in surprise, turning to see Hunk making his way into the medbay.

"Yeah." Pidge finally answered, adjusting her glasses to cover her embarrassment. "Couldn't sleep?" She countered.

"Yeah, I mean…" Hunk looked over at Lance, hunching in on himself a bit.

 _Ah, of course_. It made sense for Hunk to come. After all, that was his best friend in there. Also, since returning from the Balmera, Hunk had seemed almost antsy. It was like he had to keep moving, going forward. However, Coran had insisted on doing any repairs by himself, so Hunk had been ordered to bed as well.

"So…" Pidge looked over at Hunk as he dragged the vowel out. "I heard you're going to stay."

"Yeah. No escaping this now, I guess." Pidge shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Nope. Can't do that." A determined expression crossed Hunk's face and Pidge couldn't help but stare. _Wasn't he just asking to go home at the party earlier?_

Then again, a lot had changed since the party.

"Because of Lance?" She ventured. Seeing your best friend get blown up was probably a big incentive for going after those who caused it. If it had freaked her out, she couldn't begin to imagine how Hunk felt.

"Among other things." Hunk admitted. "At the Balmera…" He paused. "Did you know that they've been under Galra control and kept underground for so long that most of them have never seen the sky?"

Wow. That was sad.

"Besides, with Lance, I probably shouldn't even be surprised by this, even if it's… scary." Hunk continued. "I mean, Lance has always been the type to throw himself in front of other people when they're in trouble, both literally and figuratively." His nose scrunched up as he heaved a huge sigh. "Of course, this is the first time he's been hurt to such a degree…"

At Hunk's words, Pidge took a moment to think it through. She blinked in surprise. _He's right_. Lance had even done it for her.

Whenever she or Hunk had screwed up at the Garrison, or she got mouthy with an instructor, Lance had always stepped up and diverted attention to himself. He would end up with twice the tongue lashing, but he did it anyway and automatically. Pidge had been so caught up in her problems before that she hadn't even noticed the way he was protecting her.

And now she felt like a bigger jerk.

Hunk was still ranting about how Lance was always reckless like this, but she felt compelled to interrupt as the emotions burst from her chest.

"I'm sorry."

Hunk paused mid-word and looked at her, a single eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Back at the Garrison." Pidge clarified. "With everything going on, I was thinking, and… back at the Garrison," she couldn't help twisting her fingers together at the thought, "I… was never a really good teammate."

"Ah, Pidge." Hunk's face softened as he gave her a sympathetic look.

"I never tried to know you guys; I was so focused on trying to find anything about my family. I constantly avoided you guys when all you wanted to do was get to know me. I…" Pidge looked away from him. "I'm really sorry."

After a moment, Pidge heard a deep sigh and felt as Hunk finally plopped down beside her. "Dude, we get it. We understand it now, both me and Lance." Hunk said gently. "Besides most of that was Lance, as per usual I just got dragged along for the ride."

"Still – I should've – we were teammates!" Pidge protested, turning back towards him. "And I know you guys were disappointed in me! I just – I want to do better." Pidge hated giving anything less than 100% of her effort. Even if it was just a way to get into the Garrison, she should've put more effort into being part of her team.

"And you will." Hunk's calm, steadfast words were just what she needed. "Lance mainly just wanted to do that stuff so we could bond as teammates, and now, as Voltron," he nervously chuckled, "yeah, bonding is sort of essential. But you're already doing better." He reached over and pat her head a bit, smiling slightly at her squawk. "You've actually committed to this. And now, with no more secrets, we can get along a lot better than before."

Hunk's speech had actually been cheering her up until that last sentence.

 _No more secrets._

Heck, Lance had said something about how there shouldn't be secrets between teammates on that final night on Earth.

And she still had one more secret that needed to be shared.

Pidge looked up at Lance and made a promise to herself. _When Lance wakes up, I'll tell everyone. No more secrets._

"Yeah." Pidge finally said, not able to stop the small smile on her face.

"Yep. Besides, you, me, Lance – Garrison Trio, right? We're not about to lose to Shiro and Keith's broship!" Hunk pulled her into a sideways hug with a large grin.

"You bet!" Pidge was surprised to find herself laughing along when just a short while ago she'd been down in the dumps.

 _So this is what being on a team is like…_

And once the final point of their trio was back, they'd be in this until the end, right by each other's side.

* * *

 _AN: I freaking love the Garrison Trio and I can't help but feel that now that they can actually get to know each other better because of Voltron, their dynamic could potentially get stronger. Though so far, it seems like Hunk and Pidge are getting a lot closer than Lance and Pidge in canon, even with the Space Mall episode. I still think Lance and Pidge are getting closer with a sibling dynamic._

 _This was mostly inspired by the fact that when fighting the Galra in the Castle, Pidge really seemed to regret how she treated Hunk and Lance at the Garrison. So I decided to have Hunk comfort her a bit while Lance is recovering. Also, despite her decision, you can't tell me that part of Pidge still wanted to run off and find her family (especially since that Korean trailer makes it look like she finally does that)._


	4. Chapter 4 Flying Lessons

Flying Lessons

Hunk didn't think he was cut out for this.

Sure, they had managed to form Voltron in that first major battle, but Hunk literally had no idea what he was doing. It was even more obvious now that they were struggling to reform it. All of this training and bonding that they were attempting would be useless because Hunk may be a Paladin now, whatever that really meant, but he was in no way a pilot.

He wasn't like Keith and Shiro, who seemed to take to piloting like it was breathing. He wasn't like Pidge, who had at least distantly considered being a pilot before. He wasn't like Lance, who had wanted to fly among the stars and had worked hard in order to do so.

Hunk was an engineer. He fixed things. He knew the workings of most human technologies like the back of his hand. He could take almost anything apart and put it back together, usually with improvements. Once he got the hang of it, he could probably do the same with Altean tech as well.

He was not a pilot.

Sure, Yellow helped quite a lot with the piloting part, but he really, _really_ was not a pilot.

And now there was a lot more riding on him here than a good grade at the Garrison or trying to prevent himself from accidentally blowing something up at home.

The entire universe was at stake here, and how was he going to be able to protect his friends, Lance and Pidge, if he couldn't properly fly? How could he do his part since this whole Voltron thing seemed to rely on them coordinating their movements? How could he keep his motion sickness down long enough to do what had to be done? How could he –

"Hunk?"

The voice startled Hunk out of his musings and he instantly released his tight grip on his helmet, fully hearing it creaking under the pressure. Slightly embarrassed, he turned to see Shiro in the doorway to Yellow's hanger.

"Ah, hey, uh, Shiro?" Hunk managed to stammer out. "Uh, need something?"

Hunk only knew the basic things about Shiro, the things that most of the public knew. Well, actually, he probably knew a bit more as he had listened to many a rant about Lance's hero. Still, he didn't have a personal connection like Keith and Pidge seemed to have. He didn't really know how to talk to him, especially as he was now their de facto leader.

"Not really." Shiro walked over, and his voice seemed to have a trace of awkwardness as well. Hunk was glad he wasn't the only one a bit out of sorts here. "Just noticed that you hadn't made your way towards the lounge yet and I wanted to check up on you."

"Oh." Hunk looked away from him, fiddling with his helmet. "Uh, well, don't worry. Nothing's wrong!" He attempted to smile at him, but he knew it was weak.

Shiro just raised a dubious eyebrow at him, appearing to be genuinely concerned.

"Well, okay, so," Hunk took a deep breath, "I'mnotapilotsoIhavenoideawhatI'mdoing." It all tumbled out within moments.

Shiro blinked. "Uh…"

"Sorry, just – " Hunk took another steadying breath and stilled his hands. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. Sure, I know some piloting stuff from when Lance would ask me to help him review, but I'm no pilot. So, what if I mess up because I don't know what I'm doing? I don't – I can't – " He couldn't bring himself to look up at Shiro, focusing on his helmets.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Huh?" Hunk glanced up to see Shiro sending him a gentle, understanding smile.

"If you don't know something, it's best to learn more about it, right?" Shiro ran a hand through his hair. "Plus, unless you want to ask Coran or Allura about the Lions specifically, I'm probably the most qualified to tell you about piloting seeing as I'm an actual graduate and officer." It seemed like his words caught up to him. "At least, as long as you don't mind?" Shiro asked, looking a bit unsure.

Hunk blinked at him for a moment. Then a grateful smile crossed his face.

Of course, there'd been a solution to this all along. He could fix this.

"I should be asking you that." Hunk said, and he relaxed at Shiro's tentative smile.

As the two of them started walking towards where the others had gathered, Shiro began to outline the basics of piloting. The more Shiro spoke, the more Hunk felt something tight in his chest begin to unwind as he took in the information.

Okay, maybe he could do this after all.

* * *

 _AN: Writing Hunk and Shiro together is so awkward. Probably because they've never really interacted in canon outside of a mission setting. I really wish we could see Shiro getting to know Hunk better; Lance too as he's another person that Shiro's never really had any one-on-one moments with. Anyway, when Hunk mentioned in S3 that Shiro had taught him everything he knew about piloting, I knew I had to add that to my list. I hope you enjoyed this awkward, early interaction with a side of Hunk worrying himself to death._


	5. Chapter 5 With These Hands

With These Hands

Hunk was incredibly grateful to be home. The mermaid planet had been pretty and all, but there was nothing like being back on the Castleship. Especially considering how all of them had been scattered to the winds after battling Zarkon the last time he'd seen everyone.

Luckily, everyone was just fine, though Shiro was currently recovering in a cryopod. As Hunk stripped from his armor and put on his regular clothes, he at least knew that things would be back to normal fairly soon. Or as normal as things could get when you were in the middle of an intergalactic war facing purple space cat/lizard people. But the thought of returning to their kind of normal helped ease Hunk's anxiety.

Hunk exited his room and headed to Lance's room to pick him up. The two of them had agreed to swing by the kitchen to grab some food before returning to the medbay and waiting for Shiro to be done. Hunk could already taste the food goo.

Huh, the merpeople's food may have been brainwashing them, but at least it had been tasty.

Hunk sighed. _Well, until I figure out what can be baked and made into real food without killing us, I'll just have to deal._

He didn't even bother knocking on Lance's door, he just automatically opened it. "Hey, Lance, are you – " As he looked up at his friend everything stopped.

Now, Hunk and Lance had been roommates back at the Garrison. Because of that, they had seen each other plenty of times at different levels of being dressed. Lance, due to his large family and some of his hobbies, had always been a lot less troubled by it, all too used to dealing with people barging in his room without asking. Hunk had just gotten used to it.

So, when the door opened to reveal Lance mid-change with only his pants, shoes, and socks on, Lance didn't even bother turning around to see who it was. He just continued to walk over to the laundry chute to drop off his bodysuit before turning to get his shirt.

Hunk was the one who could only stop and stare at his friend.

Lance was covered in bruises.

They were large and dark, a mottled mix of black, blue, and purple. The largest ones were on his back, practically covering the whole thing. However, there were also bruises on his stomach and side as well, and there were even some that seemed to wrap around his elbow and shoulder.

Hunk could only stare in horror at them. _How… When did… Who… How did I not notice Lance getting hurt? I… Lance seemed fine; when - ?_

And that was when Hunk noticed that the bruises on his elbow and shoulder looked like a very familiar handprint.

His stomach dropped to his toes.

 _"Hunk, you've been mind-controlled by the queen and you're trying to kill me."_

 _Oh, god. Oh, god. Ohgodohgodohgod._

He could remember Lance telling him that he'd tried to kill him while mind-controlled. Hunk had brushed it off at the time; after all, they'd had bigger concerns at the time. But those bruises… He'd… Oh, god, he'd…

Hunk's heart seemed to be trying to beat itself out of his chest and he could feel his breath picking up, but he couldn't help it as his gaze redirected itself to his hands. His vision started to grow more blurry by the second.

" –unk! HUNK!"

Hunk's focus shifted as he felt gentle hands on his arms. They grounded him and he found himself tuning into that familiar voice that usually came for him when he panicked like this.

"You listening to me? You with me? All right. That's good. Just listen to my voice, okay? Breathe with me, alright? Okay, breathe in… breathe out. You're doing good, buddy."

Hunk followed the low instructions and slowly put himself back together. With a shuddering breath, he glanced up and saw Lance smiling at him softly, shirt now on, as he rubbed his arms.

"Hey, big guy… You back?" Lance asked, trying to remain light but Hunk could see the worry in his eyes.

And the very reason he started panicking in the first place crashed back into him.

Hunk jerked back and scrambled away from Lance, ignoring the flash of hurt in his friend's eyes, and couldn't help but call out, "Oh, my god, Lance, I'm so sorry!"

Lance frowned, but he didn't try to come closer. "Uh, it's no problem? I mean, it's been a while since you had such a bad attack, but you know I don't – "

"No, not – not that." Hunk found he couldn't look at him. "Those – those bruises… I – I hurt you…" He heard Lance take a sharp breath but he gazed down at his hands.

Hunk knew he was pretty big guy. At the very least, he was a lot bigger than the other Paladins with the exception of Shiro. And his years of splitting his time between his mom's restaurant and his mother's mechanic shop learning his passions of cooking and engineering had made him strong.

It had never occurred to him that that strength could be used to hurt his friends, but now that he thought about it, it could happen way too easily.

Lance was proof.

"What?" Lance squawked in protest. "No, you didn't! It was just mind control!"

"Yes, it was!" Hunk yelled and he could just feel the tears welling up again. He curled his hands into fists as he continued to stare down at them.

He didn't even realize he was trembling until he saw Lance's steady hands slowly touch his own. "No." Hunk couldn't help but look up at Lance at that. Lance's voice had smoothed out and was as calm and gentle as the ocean on a sunny day. He smiled softly. "No, you didn't hurt me. You were being mind-controlled. The real Hunk would _never_ hurt his friends."

"But – I still – it was these hands that made those bruises, Lance. So I did - " Hunk whimpered.

Lance shook his head. "Nope. Wasn't you. Because these hands," he curled his fingers around Hunk's, "are for taking apart machines and building something even greater. They're for cooking delicious things out of ingredients no one on Earth has ever seen. They help give the best hugs in the whole universe." Lance leaned in closer. "When I got hurt, and really that wasn't your fault, it wasn't your hands. It was a weird underwater serpent's puppet's hands."

Somehow, that lightened the weight that had formed in Hunk's heart. He sniffed a bit. _Still…_ "But – what if it happens again?" He couldn't help but ask.

"It won't. I know that at least for me, I'm gonna be keeping an eye out for brain-washing plants and animals." Lance pointed out. He studied Hunk's face for a second. "So…" He dragged the word out. "Hug?" He asked, opening his arms wide.

Hunk's face squished together. He had seen those bruises and didn't want to make them worse. But to deny anyone, especially Lance, a hug when they asked for one…

Lance looked about five seconds away from cranking out the puppy dog eyes as he wiggled his fingers beseechingly.

Hunk sighed. He gingerly wrapped his arms around Lance, keeping his touch feather-light as he held him close. Lance's arms encircled him back, squeezing him tight.

Hunk sniffed the last of his tears away. "Those bruises look bad. You should probably hop into a pod for bit."

"They look worse than they are; I just bruise easily." Lance huffed, though the way his fingers twitched told Hunk that there was more to it. "The armor got the worst of it." He seemed to be trying to make it better, but Hunk didn't have the heart to say that wasn't helping.

"If you say so." Hunk said, pulling back and looking at his friend.

"I do say so." Lance grinned up at him. He jumped up and grabbed his jacket, easily tugging it on. Hunk watched him carefully to see any signs of discomfort, but decided to drop the subject when he saw none.

"Up for some food goo?" Lance asked as he led the way out of his room.

"I guess." Hunk said, his previous eagerness for it gone in the wake of all that had happened.

Lance lightly punched him in the arm. "Don't worry, dude. I'm sure there will come a day where we figure out what's safe to eat and can have some real meals." He bounced his way down the corridor towards the kitchen.

Hunk followed him at a more sedate pace. Even with Lance's reassurances still ringing in his ears, he couldn't help but glance down at his hands once more.

 _Never again_. He silently vowed before he hurried up to catch up to Lance.

He was never going to let others use him to hurt his friends again.

* * *

 _AN: So I can't help but think that something happened between these two after_ The Depths. _I mean, buoyancy can affect stuff underwater I know, but Hunk was slamming Lance hard enough that that rock, or whatever that stuff was, was breaking under him. And sure, the armor probably absorbed some of it, but yeah, that looked like it hurt and it probably left a mark. I purposely watched that scene about three times in a row to make sure I could note all the areas Lance got hit by either Hunk or the wall/ground.  
_

 _And of course, Hunk is such a sweetheart that he generally doesn't want to hurt people, especially his friends. I once saw a post that said that after this Hunk didn't seem to really touch Lance for the rest of the season, but I'm sure there were some behind the scene hugs because Lance isn't going to let one of his friends feel bad about this sort of stuff. Anyway, hope you like the Hunk angst._

 _Also, as a theater person since I was 7, I can guarantee that Lance is a theater/musical person like me and gives 0 crap about changing in front of other people._


	6. Chapter 6 It's Over, Isn't It

It's Over, Isn't It

The castle was safe once more. They'd managed to evade destruction, brought unknowingly by her own hands. The Paladins had given her sympathetic glances and gone to rest for the night. They all needed it after the day they had had.

Everything was fine. They were fine. She was fine.

And yet she still found herself back here.

Allura gazed down at the broken remains of her father's memory matrix.

She reminded herself that this had been necessary. The codes of his memory had become too corrupt to function as they had been. They had taken over the ship, nearly killed the Paladins multiple times, and manipulated her. She had had to destroy it. She had had to -

Allura had destroyed the last remnant of her father.

The tears welled up once more to her surprise. Allura tried to brush them away quickly. Hadn't she shed enough tears today?

But they wouldn't stop.

Allura fell to her knees and wept, tears falling hard and fast, her entire body shuddering with the force of her sobs.

She had lost so much. She had awoken and found everything gone. Her father, her planet, her people. But at the very least she had had the AI of her father. It wasn't quite the same but she had been able to talk to him, get advice, and reminisce about the better times with it. It hadn't been much but it had been something.

Now, not even that remained.

And despite the necessity of it, she had ended it with her own hands.

Allura couldn't even begin to describe the pain she felt in her heart. It burned like a fiery coal in the very center and radiated outward, filling her to the brim.

Her cries were so loud that she didn't even register the swish of the door opening.

She did notice when a pair of arms, warm and familiar and there, wrapped around her and gently pulled her close.

"Oh, Allura…" Coran sighed as he held her tightly. "It'll be alright."

Coran.

Coran has always been there for her. Picking her up when she fell down, training her to defend herself, teaching her lessons of life and the ways of diplomacy. Her father's most trusted advisor and friend.

Coran has always been the one to be there for her when her father could not. And just like always, he was here now.

Allura turned to return the embrace, clutching him close.

She may have lost everything, but at least she had him.

She didn't know how long they remained there on the floor. Coran soothingly carded his fingers in her hair, occasionally giving soft reassurances as she cried into his chest. However, she didn't miss the few drops of water that hit the top of her head.

She was somewhat glad that she was not alone in needing this comfort.

Eventually, Allura managed to catch her breath enough to speak. "Coran," she would have winced at how croaky her voice was if she didn't feel so wrung out, "it's over, isn't it? He's - he's gone."

"Yes." Coran's voice was just as tight with emotion. He held her just a bit more tightly.

"It's all - it's all gone. Altea - Father - I can't - " She couldn't explain it. She simply didn't have the words for it.

But Coran, wonderful, understanding Coran, somehow knew exactly what she meant. "Let it all out, Allura." He rubbed her back slowly. "Let it out. You'll feel better when you do."

It was at that moment that Allura realized that she was crying for more than her father. There had been so little time and so much to do that she had barely allowed herself to think about what had happened to her home, much less mourn over it. She hadn't wanted to even contemplate that she could never go home, but now…

Coran always had known best when it came to things like this.

So she cried. Allura cried and cried over her father, her home, her people. She cried for the people who had suffered these past 10,000 decaphoebs due to Zarkon.

She knew that Coran was crying too. He had lost everything else as well.

Except for each other.

So they cried, clutching each other close, the last Alteans in the universe.

They finally mourned so tomorrow they could stand up and fight once more.

Allura would not let herself lose anything else. Not Coran, not the Paladins, not this fight.

But for now, she cried over her previous losses in the arms of the last member of her family.

* * *

 _AN: LET ALLURA AND CORAN MOURN! Seriously, these two lost literally everything and there has been very little since the first season that let them vent these feelings. Coran talked a bit about the loss with Lance and Allura cried when she had to destroy the Alfor AI. You really expect me to be a good as they have been without ever mourning their losses. I figure the AI's destruction would have been the final straw as it was almost like having Alfor alive still. But once he was gone... that just leaves the Lions, Castle, and Allura and Coran left. Since at this point, there were no signs of other Alteans being alive (I think I spotted someone with the markings in one of the shots of the rebel forces, which is a bit more positive than Haggar's survival)._

 _But seriously, they had to have mourned at some point, and they should have been allowed to have that, trying to stay strong or upbeat for the Paladins regardless._


	7. Chapter 7 - Leg Day

Leg Day

Keith hadn't known exactly what to expect when he heard noises in the weight room. After all, people hardly ever used it, as Coran and Allura failed to mention it when talking about training. Keith himself only knew about it because he stumbled upon it after he did some training alone one day, and he had only really told Shiro about it.

After all, they usually focused more on weapons training in groups, so why would they need to use weights?

So, Keith couldn't help himself as he decided to peek in and see who else had discovered the room.

His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Allura seemed to be running on a treadmill of sorts if the running belt floated in midair. Hunk was at a different machine, each swing of his legs up pulling huge weights into the air. And finally, there was Lance on an exercise bike, occasionally rising up from the seat to change how he pedaled.

All three of them were dressed in loose, casual exercise clothes, chatting a bit through their work-outs. In the background, music played, and as the song switched from a classic 1980's pop song to what was most definitely Disney, Keith realized Lance must have figured out how to synch his phone with the castle as he was the only one with a music playlist that was a mix of classics, rock, pop, Disney, and musicals.

It wasn't the fact that they were training that was surprising. Keith knew that Allura kept a strict regimen and despite his denials, Lance also trained quite a bit according to the training logs. It was more how relaxed it was even though Allura was practically sprinting, Hunk's weights looked to weigh more than Keith did, and Lance would almost be flying if his bike wasn't stationary.

It was at that moment that Allura looked up. "Keith!" She said brightly. "Would you like to join us?" Her words caught the other two's attention.

"Yeah, bro!" Hunk didn't even pause in his reps. "You can't skip leg day, you know?"

"Uh…" Keith looked from one to the other. "I don't think so." Something told him that he wouldn't be able to keep up with them in this regard, and besides, he really needed to work on his sword work. He wanted to figure out how to use both his bayard and blade at the same time.

Hunk shrugged. "Your loss, dude."

As Keith turned around, he heard Lance whine a bit, "He didn't even let us ask if he'll join for manis and pedis later."

"As Hunk said, it's his loss." Allura reassured, and Keith just knew that they were all still going.

He shook his head. He didn't know if he would ever fully understand the legs of Voltron.

* * *

 _AN: I just like the idea of the three members of the Leg Squad (those who have piloted legs) hanging out with each other. This is meant to be a bit of a pun since they're having one of their hang out days (where they do exercise/training and then spa treatments) and it's also their leg day for weight training. Keith wasn't expecting that and prefers working his arms. Just a fun short.  
_


	8. Chapter 8 - Aim

Aim

There was something that had been bugging Shiro, niggling at the back of his mind ever since it had happened.

Lance was an excellent shot. Even if the blow didn't end up landing on the intended person because they moved, at least the shot hit exactly where he had aimed it. Shiro didn't know where Lance had gained his proficiency with firearms, but his range and precision was a blessing on the battlefield.

So, it really made no sense…

"Hey, Lance," Shiro called out to him after supper, catching Lance as went to go do whatever he usually did after dinner. Lance turned back towards him, eyebrow raised in a silent question.

At Shiro's hesitance to proceed, Lance threw him a bone, "Is something up, Shiro?"

"Well, it's just something I've been wondering for a while." Shiro admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

Lance blinked in surprise. "What?"

Shiro decided to just get it over with. "How was it that you ended up hitting me when we had that spore fight if you were aiming at Keith?"

It could have been the fact that Lance was using a spore as a makeshift ball, but Shiro had seen Lance practicing with knives and even tossing an alien sort of bouncy ball around before. Even with the different items, his aim remained true.

Lance gave him a blank stare for a moment before his whole face twitched and he burst out laughing.

Shiro sighed, and crossed his arms, giving Lance what Pidge had deemed the "Space Dad" look.

Lance tried to wave the look away, finally brushing some stray tears from his eyes. He looked up at Shiro, his face shining with mirth. "You actually bought that?" And with some chuckles still escaping past his lips, he turned around and continued on his way.

It took Shiro a moment to process his words. "You… you intended to hit me the entire time?" He asked incredulously, trailing after him.

Lance didn't bother answering, still chuckling, but the answer was clear.

"Why?" Shiro didn't know if he was asking himself or Lance this, but it was Lance who finally answered.

"Got everyone to loosen up a bit, didn't it?" And though Lance was still turned away and walking down the hallway, Shiro could almost see the grin on Lance's face.

Shiro came to a stop, letting Lance continue on his business as he stopped and thought it all over. He couldn't help the huff of laughter that came out when it finally hit him.

Yes, it certainly seemed like Lance always got what he aimed for.

* * *

 _AN: You cannot expect me to believe that Lance, sharpshooter extraordinaire, threw that spore with the intention of hitting Keith and it ended up hitting Shiro instead. If you watch clips of him shooting, his shots pretty much always land where he initially aimed them, even if the target has moved in the interim. So he was probably trying to get Shiro and the others to loosen up by starting the fight, but of course, he denied trying to hit Shiro because where's the fun in that? Just another quick one I've had done for about a week.  
_


	9. Chapter 9 - He Tried

He Tried

Lance tried to hold back his sigh until Keith's door had shut completely behind him. It was only after it closed that he released his breath and his smile and scratched the back of his head.

Okay, admittedly, that was not the response he'd been hoping for.

After all, Lance couldn't have been the only one to notice, right? But Keith had seemed pretty blind-sided by him pointing out that they had one paladin too many. And surprised when Lance had offered to step down.

But it all made sense.

Or at least to Lance it did.

Sure, he wasn't the worse pilot on the team, but both Shiro and Keith were definitely better than him. Shiro had been chosen for the Kerberos mission for a reason, and Keith was a genius when it came to flying. Though he was currently down right now, Shiro was still the leader that all of them respected without question.

Keith was their current leader and though Lance could admit that he wasn't the best leader in existence, at least he was trying his best. Plus, he was willing to listen to the rest of them when he faltered. Or he did now after that first fiasco with Lotor.

Pidge and Hunk may not have been the best pilots, but they both had their purpose on the team. Pidge could get them pretty much any info they might need when on mission and her other tech skills were invaluable. Hunk's engineering skills were amazing when the chips were down and his strength was an asset on the battlefield.

And Allura…

Well, Allura had always been amazing, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that being a Paladin was her calling. Sure, she and Blue had had some problems at first but she had unlocked in a mere day or so what had taken Lance and the others months. This was her fight, her war, and she deserved to be on the front lines if she so chose.

Lance was the odd one out.

He knew that he wasn't the absolute worse, but pretty much anything he did could be covered by someone else. If anyone should give up a Lion, it should be him.

Yet Keith had seemed so shocked at the notion.

Lance sighed again, realizing he was still standing outside Keith's door. He knew Keith was more of a "live in the moment" type of guy rather than a planner, but he really would've liked a straight answer. Just saying things would work out was kinda…

And then those last words…

"What the quiznak!"

Lance startled at the shout behind him. Blinking, he glanced over his shoulder with wide eyes. Was something –

"'Leave the math to Pidge'?!" Keith seemed to growl at himself. "What is even up with that? Why did I say that! That wasn't even – Lance wasn't – " Keith groaned in frustration.

Lance briefly wondered why such a high-tech castle would have doors so easy to hear through, but that wasn't important at the moment.

Did – did what just happen bother Keith?

"He comes to you to talk and you insult his math skills?" Keith continued berating himself. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

Finally, a real smile tugged at Lance's lips.

Keith was not the best when it came to social interaction. He tried his best, but he didn't always hit the mark. It seemed like those last words really were meant to make him feel better, in a way. It hadn't quite worked, but this…

Knowing that Keith cared enough about him that he was apparently in agony over realizing a verbal misstep?

Lance chuckled as he began to walk away, knowing that Keith wouldn't hear him through the door due to his own groans.

It seemed Lance was feeling a bit more cheered up than when he had talked to Keith.

After all, at least Keith had tried.

* * *

 _AN: So I remember a post pointing out that Lance just, like, stops once he's out of Keith's room as the door's closing behind him. There was also a rumor for a while that there was actually an extended version of the bedroom scene where afterward Keith realized that what he said was not exactly the best thing to say. So this was born. Just imagine Keith saying all this in the same voice from "We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!" with that indignant yet cute voice crack when he gets worked up._

 _This is still platonic FYI or you can see it as pre-Klance if you want. Everything in this series is staying platonic until canon actually gives us something official._


	10. Chapter 10 Haunting

Haunting

Coran scoffed as he left the medbay. As if the castle could be haunted! These humans could be quite ridiculous with their superstitions.

Still, he frowned as walked through the halls towards the engine room. The lights did seem to be flickering somewhat. That wasn't good. _Perhaps I should check the power outputs; that could explain the fluctuations in the lights._ He thought to himself. After all, it was still a pretty new crystal and the castle could be adjusting. Even if that had never really happened before.

Coran walked towards the nearest display panel. If there was a problem with the castle, he'd like a better idea of what was going on before entering the engine room.

A whisper reached his ears before he could even touch it. _"Coran."_

Coran froze. He would know that voice anywhere, even if it had technically been 10,000 years.

"Alfor?" Coran turned around and searched the empty corridor. A shiver went down his spine. Was the castle cooler than normal?

 _"Coran."_

"Yes?" Coran knew it wasn't actually Alfor. Or at least, he mostly knew that. Alfor was long gone, probably dead before the Castleship had even landed on Arus. But his AI was still around, and the system wasn't set up in a way to confine him to one room. As far as Coran knew though, the AI didn't have a habit of leaving there.

And Coran had yet to work up the courage to face his king.

 _"Coran. Please."_

"What is it?" Coran's nerves were on edge, a prickling sensation telling him something was wrong. Maybe Lance's worries weren't as farfetched as they had seemed. "Can you show yourself?"

Silence.

"Alfor?" Desperation laced Coran's voice.

 _"Coran."_ Alfor sounded more mechanical and staticky, as if the signal was being lost. Coran made a move to the panel to stabilize it, but it continued before he could. _"I'm sorry."_

"What – what for?" Coran couldn't help but ask, but he didn't get any reply. That was it, he was getting some answers as he finally reached the panel and pulled up some schematics.

It was weird, from what he could tell there was obviously something wrong. All the information he brought up was just a bit off, but at the same time, he simply couldn't pinpoint what was up.

And then he heard the sound of screaming.

Coran whirled around to see Lance and Keith, quite the unusual couple, sprinting down the hallway. They were screaming loud enough that Coran was shocked they had enough air to do it considering their speed.

Lance spotted him first, and he began to skid to a stop, catching Keith with his arm. They slid to a stop right in from of him.

"Coran! Are you alright?!" Lance was looking slightly crazed as his gaze darted over Coran. Despite the way his chest was heaving, he didn't seem too put out from the run.

"Is _he_ alright?!" Keith looked at Lance with wide eyes. He too was calming down, but still seemed worried. "After what just happened to _us_?"

"Well, I thought he'd somehow been trapped in the airlock!" Lance said defensively.

"Is _that_ what you were doing out there?"

"Number Three, Number Four." Coran cut them off. "What are you talking about?"

"Coran, this place really is haunted!" Lance desperately said. "It made me think you were in an airlock and tried to eject me into space and a robot nearly took Keith's head off!"

Coran's chest squeezed tight. This was more than just a malfunctioning cryopod and flickering lights. If the castle really was trying to kill the Paladins…

 _"I'm sorry."_

Well, that would explain that turn of phrase.

Coran straightened. This needed more immediate action, trying to figure out what was wrong at one of the common display panels wasn't doing anything. "I'm fairly sure it's nothing as mystical as a haunting, Number Three. Where are Pidge and Hunk?" They would be the best bet at figuring out what was wrong, especially if they all went up to the bridge.

"Uh…" Keith's blank expression did not inspire confidence. On the other hand, Lance immediately turned thoughtful.

"Hunk wanted to get a snack, so he probably headed towards the kitchen." Lance said. "Pidge though, she wanted to…" Realization sparked in his eyes and he looked up. "She was gonna study the Galra crystal."

The three of them shared a look. The Galra crystal was certainly suspicious; it was an unknown element in these happenings. "We'd better look for her then." Coran concluded, turning towards the Green Lion's hangar. Lance and Keith quickly took the lead though as they headed down.

Coran knew they'd get to the bottom of this, though he worried at what the cost would be.

* * *

At the very least, Coran could say they had all survived. Not without some losses as Coran thought about Alfor's AI, but at least all the living on board were still alive.

It would probably take Allura a while to recover from losing her father a second time, though Coran couldn't claim to be feeling any better about it. He may not have been able to face the AI, but it did not make losing his friend again hurt any less. There had always been the possibility that he could talk to him in the future, but that was gone now.

The previous night Allura had needed him most, and Coran admitted that he had needed her close as well. Now, there was one more thing he had to face before he could put this all to rest.

Coran was surprised to find Lance in the library, frowning over the Altean texts and smiling at the occasional picture. Perhaps teaching the Paladins Altean would be a good idea considering the amount of technology in the castle that utilized it.

And it would be an opportunity to keep some of their planet alive.

Coran cleared his throat to prevent startling him and spoke once Lance finally looked up. "I believe some apologies are in order, Lance."

Lance frowned. "Apologies? For what?"

Coran found himself fidgeting. "It seems you were right that something was wrong with the castle and I didn't take you seriously."

Lance blinked in surprise. "Oh, no problem, Coran. It's fine."

Coran didn't see how not listening to his genuine points was fine. Besides, it was more than what Coran could bring himself to say. It was only when everything was over that Coran had been able to think about what Lance had said earlier when with Keith and then to the others.

The reason Lance had almost been killed in the airlock was because he had thought Coran was in danger, even after Coran had brushed his concerns aside. That made this the second incident where Lance had risked his life in order to try saving Coran's.

They hadn't even known each other that long, yet Lance still took those risks. It was very clear to Coran why Lance had been chosen by Blue, as he obviously cared for and trusted him already.

But something told Coran that if he tried to thank Lance for that care and those risks, it would be shrugged off as easily as his apology had been.

"Still, I wanted to clear the air between us." Coran insisted.

Lance rolled his eyes, but he still smiled. "How about you teach me how to read this then?" He held up the text in his hands.

Coran was hesitant to connect closely with the new Paladins. The loss of the old ones, of Alfor, was still too fresh for him. This war was dangerous, and just the boy in front of him had brushed close to death quite a few times already. Who knew how many times it would happen before this was all over?

But he had to get past that. To win this, they had to work together and getting closer was imminent. And if Allura could bring herself to let go of her father, then Coran could let go of his fears too. The ones that had kept him from visiting Alfor before it was too late and the ones that kept him from getting close.

Plus, Lance, in his own way, was clearly trying to reach out to him.

"Of course," Coran smiled and thought about what the best way to teach his now ancient language to Lance would be.

Lance smiled back. "Awesome!"

Coran wouldn't let himself be haunted by the past anymore.

* * *

 _AN: So somethings that always struck me about this episode was 1. we see the Castle messing with everyone except for Coran and 2. we see Lance and Keith run off screaming their heads off and the next time we see them they're relatively calm and have Coran in tow. So I figure that the Castle must have done something with Coran, except it was the real Alfor trying warn him of the danger that was going on. We know that Alfor and Coran were friends, but not much more than that, and I really wish we could learn more about that, hear some stories, or you know, address the fact, again, that Coran and Allura should be allowed to feel pain and mourn over those they've lost.  
_

 _Also, on a different note, I found the image of Lance and Keith just continuing to run and scream until they found one of the adults on the castle kind of funny.  
_

 _The second part I feel is something Coran would probably do. He probably started the whole number thing as a way to keep some separation, but I really don't think he'd overlook Lance risking his life for him twice. Pretty sure, after Allura, Lance is his favorite, so I decided to have a bit of a bonding moment between them._


	11. Chapter 11 Blue Buds

Blue Buds

"And there we go!" Lance leaned back with a smile. "Now just let that set for about half an hour. Uh, about 30 doboshes."

Allura leaned back as well and resisted the urge to prod at the gooey substance covering her face. How peculiar it felt. "It tingles." She murmured, almost to herself.

Lance perked up at her words. "That's how you know it's working!" He smiled a bit as he pulled the small mirror stand closer to himself and began to spread the face mask mixture over his own face.

Something in Allura relaxed upon seeing Lance's quiet happiness. She's been unsure whether this was the right way to proceed, but it looked like Hunk's advice had been good.

Asking Lance if she could join in on his nightly skincare routine had been a great way to bond. Allura hadn't expected Lance's enthusiasm at someone joining him and he had practically started beaming before she had even finished the question.

Now, Allura found herself studying the Paladin as he evened out the goop.

She hadn't expected to ever want to bond with Lance in any way. His flirtations when they had first met had not made a great first impression even when they had died off to just the occasional comment. She had also disliked how he would often try to joke when things had turned towards the worse.

Things had changed however.

Since Shiro disappeared, Lance had really stepped up. He led missions with the Blade and Hunk to help liberate planets while everyone was still reeling from the loss. Allura gained appreciation for his jokes as they brought a much needed levity to the tense air within the Castle, which she realized had probably been his intention all along. Lance had been the only one to truly get through to Keith, both when he had comforted him and then supported him through the Lion transition.

And now, Allura was piloting Blue, Lance's former Lion.

It was only after Lance gave her advice and she got herself into a Lance-like mindset, being willing to work with someone, adapt as needed, and listen to others' advice, that she had been able to fly her.

So she found herself wanting to understand him more.

Allura blinked as Lance clapped his hands together, snapping her out of her reverie. Glancing around, she saw that while she had been lost in thought he'd finished setting his own face mask and had set up a timer to let them know when it was time to remove it.

"Okay." Lance smiled at her again, his eyes shining with excitement. "Now, normally I do yoga, read, or play video games while I'm waiting for this to finish," he gestured at the face mask, "but seeing as you decided to join me for once, this is a momentous occasion that deserves recognition!"

Allura found herself chuckling a bit. "You don't have to go out of your way to find something to include me, Lance." Though she would admit that part of her felt flattered that he was willing to accommodate her in his routines.

Lance waved her comments away as he turned and opened a drawer, rummaging around a bit. "No problem, Allura. Though you should feel honored, I haven't even shown Hunk this yet." He pivoted back around, now holding a small case in his hands, and settled next to her.

Allura peered over curiously as he opened it up, revealing rows of small colorful bottles. "What are they?" She had never seen anything like it before.

Lance's grin widened as much as it could through the face mask while he held up one of the small bottles. "Nail polish!"

"Nail polish?" Allura asked, trying to raise an eyebrow before remembering her face mask, as she looked back up at Lance.

"Yeah!" He laughed. "It's essentially a type of paint that you can use on your nails to make them different colors. My sister used to do it with me and I used to do it with my nieces and cousins." Lance began setting out different colors for Allura to look at.

"Plus, Hunk liked doing it with me at the Garrison." Lance hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if Pidge would like painting her nails. She once mentioned that she used to wear the occasional dress before she started disguising herself… And I don't know how Keith feels about this sort of stuff." He lightly frowned. "Hmm. I'll have to ask. Maybe we can make a team bonding thing."

"So what exactly do you do?" Allura poked at one of the bottles, starting slightly as the contents swished a bit at the movement.

Lance jerked out of his thoughts with a blink before redirecting his attention back to her. "Oh, I'll show you! Just pick a color!"

"I see…" Allura looked over the rainbow of colors. For such a small box, it seemed to have held quite a number of the bottles. There were varying shades of different colors, so it was so hard to choose - Did that pink have sparkles in it?!

Allura delicately lifted up the bottle of bright pink nail polish, her own eyes sparkling at the glitter within the polish.

Lance chuckled a bit and plucked it from her fingers. "I think we have a winner here." He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers when Allura just stared at it. "Give me your hand."

Allura placed her hand in his as he shook the bottle of polish. She simply observed as he single-handedly twisted open the bottle and lifted the lid to reveal that a brush extending from within its cap.

"Alright, watch how it's done and once it's dry I'll give you the option of doing your other hand yourself." Lance said, before he demonstrated how to paint nails. Allura watched a bit astounded as he gently brushed the paint onto her nails, leaving color in its wake, but she took in his directions with the same amount of seriousness that she did during a briefing.

Before long, Allura was staring at her sparkly pink nails in wonder.

"That's just the first coat. It needs to dry a bit before we put on the second." Lance closed the bottle and set it to the side. "I think I have some clear top coat here, so we can use that when we're done."

"I see." Allura didn't really know what exactly that meant, but she did realize that they were going to be painting more than one layer on her nails. She didn't really care as long as her nails got to sparkle like this. "What color will you choose?"

"Why, blue, of course, for my - " Lance cut off, halfway reaching for one of the blues. His smile faltered, a deep sadness passing through his eyes, and oh, this is what Allura had been waiting for.

After all, she had seen his reaction when they first switched and when he had handed his bayard over to her. She had seen the occasional fleeting glance in the direction of Blue's hangar when it was time to assemble. As happy as she was to finally be a Paladin, her heart ached for the longing she sometimes saw in Lance's eyes.

Allura could relate to that.

"Lance?" She prodded, as Lance still seemed frozen mid-gesture.

He shook himself out of the stupor he'd fallen in, smile back in place. "I guess it should be red now, huh?" Lance shifted and took a dark red before frowning a bit and picking up a brighter shade. "Though I guess I don't need to go full emo just yet."

It was almost painful watching Lance try to act normal.

"Lance?" Allura tentatively asked, and though Lance gave an interested hum, he didn't look up from where he was now painting his nails red. She abruptly decided to switch tactics. "You know Blue misses you, right?"

Lance paused. For a second, she thought he'd make a joke, brush it off, just like he usually seemed to do. However, he instead slumped a bit before continuing to paint his nails. "You… you think?" She had never heard him so quiet before.

"I know." Allura said with complete confidence. Lance finally met her eyes and she smiled at him. "She does miss you, Lance."

She wasn't lying. Allura could sense through her new bond with Blue her sorrow over having lost Lance, her regret over having to break things off between them the way she did. The Lion did like Allura and enjoyed having her as her Paladin, but Allura knew who Blue's first choice was.

When Blue thought of Lance, Allura saw images of small drops of water falling from the sky. She'd never seen such a thing, but somehow the picture seemed like the perfect representation of Blue's melancholy.

Lance's smile was just a tad bit watery. "Thanks." It's as soft as a huff of air, and then Lance straightened and it was the Lance that she had come to know. He finished off his final nail on his left hand. "And done! Ready for a second coat?"

Allura smiled wider, her heart lighter already. "Yes."

They continued to chat, and when Allura's first hand was done, she tried painting her other hand herself, following Lance's instructions and careful corrections to the letter. She couldn't help but sit back and admire the results, even if her other hand was not as clean and precise as her first.

Though admittedly, she did smile a bit more as Lance used the blue he'd tried grabbing first, the one that was the same shade as the Lion they both piloted, on his right hand.

The two of them laughed together as the timer dinged and Lance showed her how to remove the face mask and continued with his skincare regimen that turned out to be as thorough as Allura's training schedules.

And as the conversation flowed and she couldn't help but relax in Lance's calming presence, Allura just knew that this was the start of a wonderful friendship.

* * *

 _AN: I've said before that pretty much everything in this series (unless a ship or something were to be confirmed in canon) would be platonic, so have some platonic Allurance. I really love how far their relationship has developed and since S3 they've become such great friends. I know Lance has a crush on her (even if he's pretty much lessened the flirting since S2 [I think that one clip that was released is the first time he's implied a potential romantic connection between them since S2]), but they are friends as well. I think Allura is probably the only one on the Castleship who would truly appreciate Lance's skincare routine and I think it would have been a great way for them to connect. Also some feels about Blue because that was... really painful to see back in S3. I hope you enjoyed.  
_

 _By the way, the title is because they both pilot Blue and their friendship is beginning to blossom, and that they are now buddies (I actually use this to tag platonic stuff for them on Tumblr)._


	12. Chapter 12 Upgrades

Upgrades

War changed things. Lance knew that.

Looking through history books, reading accounts of people who had fought and even died because of war, it should have been clear to most people that war changed things. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst.

Lance wondered how much he had changed. He already knew his friends were changing.

Hunk and Pidge were getting more and more wrapped up in figuring out the tech. Pidge still used her free time to track down her family, but Hunk was now only fully devoting himself to cooking and baking when he was anxious, instead spending more time working on new technology to help with their missions.

And Keith…

Well, Keith hadn't changed too much, but losing Shiro had made everything worse for him.

Heck, losing Shiro had accelerated everything when it came to changes in the team.

Then again, Lance could really only name one way he had changed as he stared down at the red bayard.

A Paladin's bayard was meant to reflect the personality and skills of its wielder. Looking at his friends' bayards, he could literally see the manifestation of their changes even if they hadn't seemed to notice. Despite using the black bayard, Keith's sword with its funky handle was pretty much exactly the same, showing that he was the same Keith they all knew despite his newfound spot as leader. On the other hand, Pidge's grappling hook was sharper and spikier, deadlier, for her close combat maneuvers. Hunk's cannon was sleeker and more compact, making it easier to handle. They were both becoming more and more engrossed in this war.

Though it was interesting that all three of them, and Allura's bayard as well now that she used one, still had the basic bayard as a handle on their weapon.

Lance didn't anymore.

Lance summoned his blaster. Created through the red bayard, it was more compact and angular, its payload just slightly smaller but more intense than what he was used to. Still, it was essentially the same weapon he was used to except there was no sign of the bayard handle. In its place was a regular trigger that he now rested his finger beside.

Lance seriously didn't know what that was supposed to indicate about himself.

Lance took a steadying breath and started up the training sequence. With how dangerous things had become since Lotor had emerged, he needed to be at the top of his game and adjust to the changes in his role. He didn't necessarily like training, unlike Keith, but he would do it if needed.

His thoughts didn't stray from his training as he shot drone after drone after drone. He was glad that at least his shooting skills were as top notch as usual. If anything, his already impeccable aim was just getting better, especially now that he was training extra. It shouldn't have mattered so much to him that the gun was red instead of blue.

Lance sighed after the level finished and he looked at his bayard again. It was just as good as his old gun, so he couldn't really complain, but…

"Man, it'd be a lot easier to watch everyone's backs if I had an actual sniper rifle." He muttered to himself contemplatively. He kept talking to himself, just to help organize his thoughts. "It'd give me a better view of the battlefield, and I could assess everyone's needs better. Plus, I could take out high-end targets without us necessarily having to fight all the way to them." He studied his bayard for a second. "I mean, this is good for fighting on the ground and long distance, and in a pinch, I can make some extremely long distance shots, but still I…"

Lance stopped as his blaster glowed. His eyes blinked and then widened as he watched the gun lengthen in his hands, saw the scope adjust a bit, felt the weight distribution change. As the glow faded, he held in his hands an actual sniper rifle that he had just been imagining.

And Lance knew that they were in the middle of a war and all, but somehow seeing his bayard change into an entirely new form made him feel giddy excitement rushing through his veins.

He quickly raised the rifle and looked down its sight, and he marveled at how he could pick out minute details on the opposite wall. It was stunning, the quality of the view as excellent as most Altean tech! Lance called out to the computer to form a target there and tested how the actual shot felt as he lined up and fired, easily hitting the center.

As he brought it back down, he gazed at his bayard in amazement. This was just so…

Wait.

Lance concentrated and to his relief, the bayard switched back to its blaster form. For a few minutes he practiced just switching between the two. It took a bit of thought now, but he knew that with more practice, he'd soon get the hang of it and be able to fluidly switch between the forms in combat.

Lance left it in its rifle form and he couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"Well, who's the cool, ninja sharpshooter now?"

* * *

 _AN: So it always kind of bothered me that they never really made a big deal out of Lance's bayard becoming a sniper rifle. Sure, looking at scenes in the later part of season 3, you can see that Pidge and Hunk's bayards have changed a bit, but they're pretty much the same. Lance was the first (and still the only) Paladin to unlock a new weapon for his bayard to turn into. And it wasn't even celebrated, he just turned up in an episode with a sniper rifle which just proves how much of a cool ninja sharpshooter he is despite what the others say. He can switch between three forms now and they actually made a big deal out of the whole sword thing, so then it kind of bothered me even more. Plus, looking at the weapon designs, Lance is the only one whose bayard weapon forms show no signs of the basic handle shape which I find fascinating. It just shows how flexible and adaptable Lance is and how he's grown into the role of Paladin overall.  
_

 _And actually, I have so many problems with Keith's bayard sword. So many. The handle is gonna make him break his wrist and he has yet to do any dual wielding swords despite having two. What a waste._


End file.
